Jens Jeppesen Celebrates Release Of New Record

With five studio records and a live show that has played all over Atlantic Canada, Ontario and Alberta, New Brunswick native Jens Jeppesen is getting set to release his newest record At Fables.

Jeppesen walks a musical line that, in a broad sense, falls under the folk umbrella. He is as comfortable and confident playing high-energy bluegrass as he is leaning on the roots of traditional country-folk music.

To celebrate the release of At Fables, Jens Jeppesen is set for a performance at Parkindale Hall Saturday evening. The show starts at 8 p.m.

Jeppesen might comfortably reside in the folk world today, but getting to this point was not a direct route.

“It was in church that I was first introduced to choral music,” Jeppensen says. “There was an event in the church basement where I first hear someone play the acoustic guitar and was immediately taken by it. At 12 years old, I took a liking to opera and classical music and so my mother found me a voice instructor. I ended up placing first in an Eastern Canadian classical music festival singing a piece by Alessandro Parisotti.

“And while I loved opera, I was also discovering bands like Wide Mouth Mason, Big Sugar and The Tragically Hip and local acts like Chris Colepaugh.”

Jeppesen recorded At Fables live off the floor with the assistance of his brother Jordy in Tatamagouche, N.S.

Jeppesen says Jordy opened up his basement studio to him, allowing him to mix and master the album once recording had wrapped up.

With his new album now available, Jeppesen shares that he is hoping to have a DVD completed by the end of the year. He says that the DVD will focus on making a living in the music industry including life on the road and the people you get to know along the way.

If you are someone looking for stability, the topsy-turvy music business might not be the best fit for you. Despite the fact that singer-songwriters often toil away in relative obscurity, one gets the feeling there is nothing else that Jeppesen would rather be doing.

“The storytelling singer-songwriters tend to be more hidden when compared to five-piece bands,” Jeppesen says. “Singer-songwriters are seldom on the radio and seldom headline festivals. I don’t think that singer-songwriters are a dying breed however. They simply have to evolve and try to find ways to make themselves more marketable. I’m a firm believer that less is sometimes more when it comes to music.”

Article published in the January 11, 2013 edition of the Times & Transcript